General Physical Preparation and Long-Term Youth Athlete Development

I am a strength and conditioning coach with a background as an athlete and coach in a team sport (European handball). As a strength and conditioning coach, I have been coaching general physical preparation since 1987 and have coached elite and youth athletes from many different sports. My coaching experience with team sports has allowed me to observe that many team sports coaches, recruiters, talent managers and parents don’t quite understand what general physical preparation is and its vital role. The purpose of this article is to explain what general physical preparation is, its fundamental role in long-term athlete development and what a strength and conditioning coach is.

Practice has proven that long-term athlete development is the best way to prepare young athletes for competition and a career in sport. It is a long process which involves general physical preparation, specialised preparation and sport-specific preparation. Here is a quick explanation of the three types of preparation.?

?General Physical Preparation?is the foundation for an athlete’s development. As a result of the general physical preparation, athletes develop flexibility, mobility, stability, balance, strength, power, speed, endurance and coordination. Learn the correct lifting technique, running technique, acceleration, deceleration, agility, jumping and landing. General physical preparation plays an important role in improving muscle imbalances, developing good posture, injury prevention, post-injury rehabilitation and reconditioning. In youth athlete development, general physical preparation is the foundation for future specialised training (skills) and competitions. Athletes with a strong foundation can develop better skills, tolerate higher training loads, and compete more successfully. Properly planned and applied general physical preparation can limit the negative effects of early sports specialisation. General physical preparation is an integral part of the athlete’s preparation and it is important to include it all year round.?

Specialised Preparation?develops the sport’s fundamental skills and tactics.?

Sport-Specific Preparation?is specific conditioning developed only during competition and is called match fitness in team sports and race fitness in athletics and other sports.?

At the early stage of athletes’ development, general physical preparation should be a priority and foundation for specialised preparation and sport-specific preparation (competitions). Shortcuts in general physical preparation, doing too many skills and competing too often can lead to early sports specialization. Without a doubt, if athletes aspire to reach the elite level, they need to practice their skills repeatedly. The problem is that constantly repeating the same skills overdevelops specific muscle groups and parts of the athlete’s body. This creates imbalance and an increased risk of injury. General physical preparation is important in correcting and managing the negative effects of specialised and sport-specific preparations. In order to manage the athlete’s development and avoid early sports specialization, it is essential to understand the three types of preparation and their impact on each other. They should be optimal and work in synergy at each stage of the athlete’s development.???

In a well-structured long-term athlete development program, the athletes should be developed strictly in this specific order.

1. General physical preparation?

2. Specialised preparation?

• Fundamental skills development (individual skills) Extended skills development (applying skills in drills)?
• Tactical preparation (individual, group, team)
• Practice Matches??

3. Sport-specific preparation (competitions)?

Unfortunately, this process is often ignored and many young athletes start to develop skills and compete before sufficient general physical preparation. For example, it is common practice in Australian Rules Football (AFL) for young football players to develop skills and compete before sufficient general physical preparation. This practice has a serious drawback and can compromise young athletes' future in the sport.?

Kicking is one of the fundamental skills in AFL. It is a never-ending challenge for professional AFL clubs to find players with reliable kicking. The ability to coordinate fluent and consistent kicking depends on joint mobility, muscle flexibility, stability, balance, strength and power. Learning and practising kicking at a young age before developing these physical qualities usually results in deficiencies in kicking technique. These deficiencies are hard to change later in the player’s career. During my fifteen-year career in AFL as a strength and conditioning coach, I have seen many professional football players who train hard and manage to improve deficiencies in their kicking technique, which they developed at a young age. The problem is that during competitions, when the players are exhausted and mentally stressed, it is not unusual to see these deficiencies return, resulting in poor performance on the field. Secondly, these deficiencies in technique can increase the incidence of injuries.?

• Poor stability and balance due to poor strength limits kicking control and accuracy.?
• Poor power limits the kicking distance.?
• Poor hip mobility and flexibility limits the range of the kicking leg.??

This example is relevant for any sport and highlights the need for fundamental general physical preparation before any skill training.?

General physical preparation should be an integral part of the athletes’ preparation throughout their careers. If we ignore the general physical preparation at the start of the young athletes’ journey in sport their careers are compromised. During my work in AFL and elite sports generally, I have seen many young players fail to make a career after getting drafted because they are physically unprepared to compete at an elite level, often breaking down physically. Waiting until being drafted and then learning how to run, lift weights and develop physically is not the best start in elite sport. The time for learning and fundamental preparation in elite sports is limited and the expectation is to perform. If young athletes have ambitions for a successful career in professional sports, general physical preparation before they get drafted is a must. An experienced strength and conditioning coach can help them develop physically and achieve their ambitions. At an elite level general physical preparation is an integral part of the athlete’s preparation during the off-season, pre-season and in-season. General physical preparation never stops and is vital for success. It is important to understand that general physical preparation is not bodybuilding, fitness training, personal training, CrossFit, F45, Boot Camp, Tough Mudder, Spin class, Boxing class, Yoga, Pilates and Physical education. Of the three types of preparation I mentioned earlier, general physical preparation is the most complex and strength and conditioning coaches need to be proficient in the following.

• Strength training – body weight, free weights, machines.?
• Athletic training – running drills, speed, plyometrics, agility, endurance.
• Flexibility and mobility.
• Training load selection and management.?
• Periodisation - efficiently integrates general physical preparation into specialised preparation and sport-specific preparation.
• Understand the interaction between general physical preparation, specialised preparation and sport-specific preparation. Their influence on one another and the transfer of training effect.?
• Testing athletes – selecting relevant tests and correct interpretation of data.?
• Assessing athletes, identifying deficiencies and addressing them efficiently.
• Warming up athletes for training and competition.
• Training and competing in different environmental conditions - temperature, humidity and altitude and their effect on the athletes’ performance.?
• Travelling across time zones and adjusting.?
• Recovery strategies.
• Corrective exercises and prehabilitation.
• Post-injury rehabilitation and reconditioning for returning to skills training and competition.
• Nutrition.
• Sufficient knowledge of anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, sports medicine and biomechanics.
• Work in a team with athletes, coaches, talent managers, sports scientists, medical staff, physiotherapists and nutritionists.?

I hope this article helps the reader understand and appreciate the importance of general physical preparation in the athlete's career.

My name is Valeri Stoimenov.

I have been involved in high-performance sport as a professional European handball player, handball coach and strength and conditioning coach since 1978. I have worked with athletes across many different sports. The athletes I have worked with are ranging from an elite level professional, (Olympic, world champions, world record holders) to youth development.

I hold a master’s degree in Coaching and Physical Education from the Bulgarian State University for?Physical Education and Sport?(National Sports Academy – Vasil Levski)

I have completed coaching courses in:

Strength & Conditioning Coach Level 2 - ASCA

Weightlifting Coach – Level 1

Athletics Coach – Level 3 Sprints Relays Hurdles

Some of my experience includes;

Currently

Bendigo South East College (Australia) – S&C coordinator

Previously

Bendigo Spirit WNBL (Australian Women’s Basketball League) – S&C coach

Chinese National Women’s Basketball Team – S&C coach

Chinese National Swimming Team - S&C coach

Shanghai-China Institute of Sport – S&C consultant

Fifteen years S&C coach for AFL clubs (Australian Rules Football) - Melbourne FC, Essendon FC, Hawthorn FC, VIC Metro U18)

South Dragons Basketball Club NBL (Australian Men’s Basketball League) – S&C coach

South Melbourne Soccer Club – Australian National Soccer League?(NSL) – S&C coach

Australian Bobsleigh National Team – S&C coach

Australian Badminton National Team – S&C coach

European Handball - senior coach

European Handball – U14 development coach

European Handball - professional player for ten years